Everything to Me (Spitfire Tribute)
by Triscribe
Summary: Based off of the lyrics of the song She's Everything, this is a series of brief looks at the shared lives of Wally West and Artemis Crock after the first season, and partially into the second. Mostly fluff, some serious bits, and an emotional wringer towards the end.


_She's Everything, by Brad Paisley_

_A Spitfire Tribute_

_She's a yellow pair of running shoes, A holey pair of jeans._

"Are you serious about this?" Wally asked again in disbelief. Artemis finished securing her shoe laces in silence, before standing up straight and looking him right in the eye.

"What's the matter, Baywatch? Afraid that without super speed, you might lose a simple footrace?" His frown deepened into a scowl. Losing was unacceptable. Losing to his semi-sort-of-pseudo-girlfriend would be unacceptable as well as _humiliating._

Wally knew that Robin was waiting somewhere around here with a video camera. Well, he'd show the both of these lunatics. Superspeed or not, Wally West could and would win this race around the park.

He didn't realize until it was too late that Artemis had worn her pair of cut off jeans with a couple of tears on the backside. The distraction was enough for her to maintain a solid lead.

And Wally never did get to live it down.

_She looks great in cheap sunglasses, She looks great in anything._

Groaning, Wally thumped his head once again into the doorway of his girlfriend's bedroom. "Artemis, for the last time, you look _amazing._"

And he was absolutely serious, despite it being the third or so stunning outfit Artemis had put on. But each time, she frowned at her reflection in the mirror, finding something amiss about it. Normally, Wally knew that the teen wouldn't have cared much at all what she looked like, but their date tonight was a pretty upper-class restaurant, and both of them wanted to appear... Polished. That was the word.

For Wally, this was managed with a rented tux. For Artemis, it was pouring through both her and her mother's closets in an effort to find something suitable.

"You're just saying that, Wally." She grumbled, turning and twisting in front of the mirror. With a sigh, the girl stepped away, and for a brief moment the speedster's heart lifted in hope. It crashed again as she moved to return to the closet once again.

"Okay, enough of this!" He ducked around her, grabbed a random t-shirt and pants, throwing them at the startled girl on his way back out.

"Wally, what-" Artemis didn't have time to ask before her boyfriend was gone in a gust of wind. Shoulders slumping, the teen berated herself for being so fussy. Now she'd gone and gotten him to flee in irritation. Guessing that their plans for the evening were ruined, Artemis began changing her outfit to something more comfortable.

Just as she finished buttoning the khaki pants, Wally appeared in another rush of air. He'd switched clothes as well, getting back into the usual button-down-over-t-shirt and blue jeans.

"Ready?" Before even getting the chance to ask _Ready for what?,_ Artemis found herself being scooped up and carried out the door at superspeed. The world went by in a blur, much faster than usual, and when they stopped the pair were in the shadows at the edge of a park filled with families.

"Where are we?" Artemis finally managed to get out. Wally grinned.

"Not sure what the name of the town is, but our dinner reservations have been swapped out for a Pennsylvania-style Public Movie Night." Sure enough, at the far end of the grassy field, a projector screen was just showing the opening credits for some movie call _What's Up, Doc?_ And sitting at Wally's feet was an honest-to-goodness picnic blanket, complete with a blanket, sparkling cider, and all the food needed for a regular person plus one speedster in disguise.

"All this, just because I couldn't pick a decent outfit?" She grinned.

Wally leaned forward to brush a soft kiss against her lips before pulling back again. "Babe, even now, I think you're drop dead gorgeous. The clothes aren't what matter."

_She's "I want a piece of chocolate", "Take me to a movie", She's "I can't find a thing to wear", Now and then she's moody._

He'd barely gotten his freckled face past the door when Wally was forced to duck an incoming projectile.

"Hey! What'd I do!" The door was slammed shut, no explanation given for the lamp that had almost collided with his skull. "Artemis? Babe, what's wrong?"

"Go away, Wally!" Her voice was too muffled to make out anything that might give him a clue as to what was going on.

"Not until you say what's bothering you! And don't play the _I'm fine_ card, the lamp says otherwise."

He had to wait a bit before the silence was broken. "... Can you get me something to eat? Dessert, preferably?" Admittedly, he blinked for a moment before getting past the bizarreness of the request.

"Uh, sure." Within seconds, he'd zoomed to the Mountain's kitchen, grabbed a pudding cup out of the fridge, doubled back for a spoon, then returned to his girlfriend's door. Knocking this time, he waited patiently with the sweet.

When the door was opened, he nearly dropped both spoon and pudding. Artemis looked terrible; her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, tear streaks covering most of her face. The blonde hair, usually so carefully restrained in a ponytail, tumbled down around her head in tangled locks. Worst of all, the archer refused to meet his gaze, her eyes locked firmly on the floor.

"... I think this calls for something more serious than pudding." Wally finally muttered. "Don't go anywhere." In record time, he dashed to the nearest Happy Harbor grocery store, grabbed a carton of Intense Chocolate ice cream, some strawberries, and a tub of cool-whip for good measure. He pulled a Bat and just left twenty dollars on the cash register in front of a startled employee, before hurrying back the Artemis and whatever recounting awaited from her crappy day.

_She's a Saturn with a sunroof, with her brown hair a-blowing._

There'd only been one occasion when carrying-the-archer thing had gone wrong before he took two steps: that would be the time Wally had tried it when Artemis' hair wasn't secured in the usual ponytail. He'd gotten a mouthful of the wild blonde locks and had had to skid to a quick halt, coughing and spitting. At first, his considerate girlfriend had tried to help, but that attitude changed when he begged her to always carry a hair band, or clip or ballcap or _something._

The slap upside his head really hadn't helped matters, either.

_She's a soft place to land, And a good feeling knowing_

He was beat. No two ways about it, Wally was running on fumes and ready to crash. The Team knew this, and so no one commented when the exhausted speedster failed to make it to his usual seat on the Bioship.

Instead, his limp body crumbled into Artemis' lap, and in light of the high speeds he'd been running at all day, the archer couldn't bring herself to berate him. In fact, by the time the ship got back to Mount Justice, she'd gone and arranged their seating so as to be able to prop Wally up with one arm and stroke his hair with the other.

Waking him up completely had been impossible, so the archer went and half dragged, half guided her boyfriend to his bedroom. Once there, the idiot went and fell straight onto the bed, his left arm still holding onto her shoulders. Quietly cursing, Artemis tried to extradite herself, only to wind up snuggled even more into Wally's grasp. Eventually, she sighed and ceased struggling, resigned to being stuck there for the night.

The both of them slept through until mid-morning, with Wally waking up first, smiling, and allowing his eyes to flutter close again.

_She's a warm conversation that I wouldn't miss for nothing. She's a fighter when she's mad, And she's a lover when she's loving._

"Really?" Artemis pinned him with a level stare. "You're annoyed at your pre-cal teacher because she only assigned one page of homework instead of three?"

"Yes! Because that means she's saving up the big workload for the weekend, and I'll have to spend more time than usual on it, which will _not_ mix well with a mission!" The irritated speedster threw his hands up in the air, getting a chuckle out of his girlfriend.

"You mean, if we even get a mission. For all you know, Batman will let us all stay home."

"Yeah, no. My luck never works out like that." And he was right. That Saturday night (after he spent several hours with the _five pages_ of math homework), the Team got a mission to take down some militants attempting to cross into a peaceful area to disrupt the stable government that was in place. Racing around and dodging machine fire, Kid Flash managed to disarm three of his four assigned targets. It was that last one who got in a lucky blow, lashing out with his gun instead of firing it, like KF expected.

Next thing the teen knew, he was laying flat on his back, staring up the barrel of the weapon at a smirking face. That expression turned to horror as something else caught the man's attention, and then he was gone. A blur of green stood over Kid Flash's prone form, refusing to allow enemies or their bullets to even have a chance to get near.

Head still fuzzy, he didn't realize just how furious Artemis was until the fight was done, and she knelt by his side. The enraged expression was terrifying, causing KF to be extremely grateful when the archer's eyes met his and her face changed to deep concern.

_And she's everything I ever wanted, And everything I need. I talk about her, I go on and on and on 'Cause she's everything to me._

"Don't know why you're taking so long." Dick grumbled, idly tapping the keys on his holo-screen. Wally tossed the other boy a short glare, which he ignored. The newly renamed Nightwing was on an even height with the older teen, and Dick seemed to think the growth spurt meant he had the right to cross-examine his best friend's love life.

"Dude. We're going to the same college, but that doesn't mean- well, I'm sure she wouldn't want to- Artemis just wouldn't, okay?" To late, Wally recognized the smirk on Dick's face, and turned around slowly to find his girlfriend raising an eyebrow at him.

"I wouldn't what, Wally?"

"Um... Sh-share an apartment with me?" He squeaked, reddening. So terrified that he actually asked, the young man almost missed her answer.

"I'd love to."

_She's a Saturday out on the town, And a church girl on Sunday. She's a cross around her neck, And a cuss word 'cause it's Monday._

Artemis groaned as the alarm went off, much too early in her opinion. Late night missions did _not_ mix well with college life. She started to slip her hand out from under the covers, only for Wally to reach over her first and hit the button. Then he flopped back down, the arm now draped over her waist.

"It's Monday, isn't it."

"Yeah."

"We've both got lectures in an hour."

"Yeah."

"...Do we have to go to class?"

"... Maybe."

_She's a bubble bath and candles, Baby come and kiss me._

"As soon as we get home, I'm taking a long, warm shower."

"Not if I beat you to the bathroom, Baywatch."

"Yeah, like that'll happen."

"Need I remind you of the park race?"

"... You swore never to speak of that travesty again." Artemis smirked at him, still trying to wring some of the sewer muck from her ponytail. Both heroes had taken a side route in order to cut off the fleeing crooks, which had worked, but both were rather worse for wear because of it.

Yet another thing in favor of Wally's suggestion for quitting the business, at least until they were through with college. Admittedly, Artemis was coming around to her boyfriend's way of thinking. She was going to have a hard time explaining any lingering smells to her classmates.

"Well, maybe instead of racing each other to the shower, we could share..."

_She's a warm glass of wine, And she's feelin' kind of tipsy._

Wally choked. "W-what?!"

"You heard me, Baywatch."

"You've actually had beer before?!" Artemis shrugged.

"Yeah, when I was a lot younger, on one of his better nights my dad offered me a sip from his bottle. Stuff was so nasty, I haven't been able to stand going near it since." He relaxed slightly with her explanation.

"Oh. Okay then."

"Although, there was the time Jade brought home a case of wine she'd practiced snatching..."

"Not funny, Artemis."

"Maybe not, but your expression certainly is."

_She's the giver I wish I could be, And the stealer of the covers._

His eyes blinked open lazily, and Wally frowned, trying to figure out what was wrong. There weren't any strange sounds or smells, no shadows at the window, which he'd remembered to close-

Wait a minute. He'd closed the window. So why was his skin so cold?

The bare chested speedster felt around for a moment, his fingers finally snagging on an edge of the comforter, much farther to the right than he could have thrown it. Trying to grab and pull the fabric back over himself, Wally was surprised to realize it was snugly wrapped around and held in a death grip by his girlfriend.

"Arty..." He quietly groaned. This was the fourth time this week, for crying out loud!

Having learned by now that it was useless to try and wrest the comforter back, Wally stood and shuffled to the living room, where he snagged the throw that usually lay across the back of the sofa. He then returned to the bedroom, and flopped over with the much smaller blanket covering as much of him as he could manage.

Waking up once again, but this time to sunlight pouring in through the window, Wally was surprised to find both the throw and comforter tucked around him. There was a note lying on the bedside table just in front of his nose, too.

_Wally - Had to run, late for class, scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, sausage links and Eggo waffles waiting in the kitchen. Love, A._

Alright, even if she was a blanket-snitch, he had the best girlfriend ever.

_She's the picture in my wallet, My unborn children's mother._

"Absolutely not." Artemis said firmly. "We would not name our child after a video game character."

Wally had to laugh. "I know, Babe, I just wanted to see your expression."

"Ha. Ha. But, seriously Wally, what would you think of using a flower? Something pretty."

"Well..." He fiddled with the zipper of his jacket. "...What about Iris?" Artemis looked up in surprise. Every name her boyfriend had suggested up until this point was a joke, or meant to make her huff in annoyance.

"After your aunt?"

"Yeah."

"Okay... I like it. What about a boy?"

Now he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, as much as I love Barry, I really owe a lot of my training to Jay Garrick; he's kind of the one who had a lot of pointers for me and my uncle, and didn't get frustrated when I kept running into stuff, like someone I could name."

That did get a laugh out of her. "Okay. Iris if we ever have a girl, Jay for a boy."

_She's the hand that I'm holding, When I'm on my knees and praying. She's the answer to my prayers, And she's the song that I'm playing._

"Wally?" He glanced up from his clenched hands, every other part of his body stock still. Artemis had never seen her boyfriend lacking motion; his thumbs would be twiddling, his feet bouncing, or, more often, his mouth continually flapping. This, though... This was scary for her.

Without another word, the off-duty archer sat down in the waiting room chair beside him, taking one of those white-knuckled hands in her own. His eyes flickered back down to the tile floor, the rest of his body still refusing to twitch a single muscle.

Within the hospital, the couple waited together, fingers firmly clasped in an unspoken vow: I'm here.

_And she's everything I ever wanted, And everything I need. I talk about her I go on and on and on, 'Cause she's everything to me._

"Of all the sneak-thief, underhanded, backstabbing, conniving, downright despicable-"

Dick glanced up at his best friend, who was liable to wear out the carpet with his pacing. It was going on two hours now since Wally had shown up at his apartment, ranting about something that Dick hadn't even gotten a full explanation for. Certainly, _something_ had happened, and from the occasional female pronoun thrown in, probably with Artemis.

The eighteen year old would be more worried if this same thing didn't occur at least once every six months or so. Usually, Wally would pace and rant, hurl insults out the wazoo, then a call would come in from Artemis. He'd quiet down, start apologizing, exchange the "No, it was my fault," line a few times, then hang up, thank Dick, and take off without another word. An actual recounting of what had occurred would sometimes come down a few days later, but only if Artemis wanted to thank him as well for providing Wally with someplace to blow off his steam.

It was what best friends were for.

The phone rang, Wally froze, and Dick returned to his book with a small grin.

_She's the voice I love to hear, And someday when I'm ninety She's that wooden rocking chair I want rocking right beside me._

"So, when are you going to pop the question?" Wally glanced up from his chemistry research to frown at his uncle.

"We're still in school, Barry, there's plenty of time."

The older man chuckled, shaking his head. "Keep saying that, Kid, and you'll both be grey haired by the time you get around to it. Or worse, Artemis won't keep waiting for you."

"Five years. She's managed to stick with me for that long, we can afford to finish college, at least."

"But not for much longer after that, right?"

Wally smirked, hand pressing against the pocket where he'd been keeping a very special little box for several months now. "As soon as we graduate. And not a minute later."

_Every day that passes, I only love her more._

"Who was on the phone, Babe?" Wally's cheerful expression vanished at the look on Artemis' face.

"Nightwing... He wants our- my, help with something. Won't talk about it over the phone, though." And knowing Dick, that meant there was sneakiness afoot. Closing his textbook, Wally stood and took Artemis' hands in his.

"Hey... We'll go talk to him together, okay? What concerns you concerns me. I love you."

She smiled up at him. "I love you too."

_Yeah, she's the one That I'd lay down my own life for._

"Wait!... Where's Wally?"

_And she's everything I ever wanted, And everything I need. 'Cause she's, everything, to me. Yeah she's, everything, to me._

A/N: I'm convinced Wally went into the Speed Force. No other option exists.

That being said, this song really hit me when I heard it after a Season 1 marathon, and suddenly saw in my head Wally and Artemis discussing baby names. The rest followed bit by bit.

-Triscribe


End file.
